What I’m Listening to: Podcasts October 2017

It was a big month for podcasts! Some months go by where I only want to listen to my tried and true standbys. Some months I’m much more interested in trying out new shows I’ve never listened to before. October was one of those months. I was all over the place with genres and topics. True crime, entertainment, interviews, and back to the book podcasts. LOVE the book podcasts. As always, I’ll start with the podcasts that were new to me this month and end with the ones I listen to all the time.

Dirty John is a true crime podcast told in six episodes. It’s about a man named John and how he conned and terrorized the lives of many. It’s told from the perspective of the investigator at the LA Times, John’s wife Debra, and her adult daughters. This podcast is very similar to S-Town and Serial, with a lot of the addictive qualities that will make you want to binge through it, the way I did. What makes it different is that you’re not entirely sure what the crime is until the end. And the voices of the family members might drive you slightly crazy. But overall, a very fascinating listen! I’d also just like to point out that I found this and listened to it before it was hyped up all over the internet in the last few weeks!

I don’t listen to this regularly, but it’s always very entertaining when I do. I first heard about it while I was listening to S-Town a few months ago. They did accompanying episodes each week, going over each S-Town installment. I picked it up again this month to listen to what they had to say about Dirty John. I see that going back they basically talk about any kind of true crime type thing that’s big at that time. I plan on keeping a closer eye on new episodes to see if they peak my interest.

I like to think about this podcast as an audio devotional/daily pep talk. I only listen to it early in the morning when I’m the only one up and working on some sewing. It’s an inspirational and uplifting start to my day. Emily has such a soothing voice and she has so many wonderful things to say. It’s a relatively new podcast and I’m not caught up yet, but I’m really loving it so far.

Excellent advice about living the life God intended for you. If you’re constantly thinking about something you wish you were doing, it’s very likely something you SHOULD be doing. Life is meant to be lived and enjoyed. Check this one out if you’re feeling the nudge to try something new!

Hey YA is a new Book Riot podcast all about YA. I adore YA. So of course I have to listen to this podcast! There are four episodes so far and I’ve only listened to two. It feels very rough to me, but I think I’ll stick with it. I don’t really know anybody in my real life that reads YA (or at all??), so maybe this will give me a bit of a fix to hear more about it.

This is a fictional murder mystery installment podcast. There are five episodes so far and I listened to them all in a day. Just like fictional audiobooks, I kind of have a hard time paying attention. But…it’s interesting enough that I obviously binged it so far and will listen to the rest. It’s a well done story acted by celebrities like Kristen Bell. It’s very similar to the movie Clue. Which I hate, by the way. But I like Kristen Bell, so I gave it a shot! I find the butler to be especially creepy.

I’m SO book obsessed these days. I want to spend all of my time reading about books, listening to people talk about books, reading my own books. So I’m coming back to all the Book Riot podcasts I subscribed to a long time ago, but never listened to. This particular one is a recommendation show (my favorite!!) where people send in questions and get book recommendation answers. My favorite episodes so far are #8 and #9 – holiday gift book recommendations.

A long time ago I recommended The Lazy Sisters podcast, which was pretty hilarious. They no longer make it, but the older sister Kendra now has this podcast on her own. I follow her on instagram and her stories are some of my favorites to check in on every day. But I do have occasional mixed feelings about the podcast. I know she genuinely doesn’t think she’s a genius at all the things she talks about, but sometimes it comes across as being a little pompous. Also, I hate saying this because I know it makes me sound petty and mean. But she says the word “important” like a hundred times in every episode and 90% of the time she pronounces it “imporDant.” Though I noticed in an episode of The Next Right Thing today that Emily P. Freeman also pronounces it that way, so it must be a North Carolina thing. It just kind of drives me crazy. But yes, back to the podcast. It’s entertaining, sometimes funny, sometimes makes you think about things in a different way. I don’t listen to all the episodes, just the ones that sound the most interesting to me. I’m really looking forward to the holiday series she just started and will continue with the rest of the year.

I definitely don’t listen to this regularly. But every once in awhile I want to listen to something that’s pretty different from everything else in my ears. This month I listened to the episode with James Cordon. I really like James Cordon and I enjoyed the interview with him just being himself – not trying to be funny or entertain anyone. It was really interesting!

A podcast about life and technology. Today I listened to an episode called Play Video Games for your Mental Health, which I found to be very intriguing. It made me think differently about what kinds of games my kids are playing and which might actually be improving their general health and which kinds to avoid. I don’t really spend a lot of time dealing with their video game consumption because that’s Greg’s arena. But I liked hearing what they had to say about it.

This episode was SO relatable, as a work at home mom myself. Meg and Laura shared how frustrated and distracted and conflicted they feel about their “work” as podcasters and how it fits into their family lives. I agreed with literally everything they said. I feel the same things every single day with Heartstring Annie and now that I’m trying to grow the blog I feel that way even more. Especially since like their podcasting – my blog isn’t bringing in any money, so does it really count as important work?? Anyway, just a fantastic episode!

In October, Jen finished the For the Love of Moxie series and started a series For the Love of Food. Every episode is an interview with a different person and it’s always so funny and fascinating. I love learning the stories of so many people – most of whom I’ve never heard of before. Which oftentimes turns me off, but I’m really enjoying this one.

Still my daily go to podcast when I just want to be entertained. I feel like I listen to this ALL THE TIME, but I still have hundreds of back episodes and Patreon supporter episodes. I kind of hope I never catch up so I always have something fun and happy to listen to! I love Wednesdays when I can listen to the most current episode. I also just realized Patreon supporters also have access to videos that Knox and Jamie do. A little less convenient since I don’t often find myself just sitting at my computer watching things. But I’m super excited to make my way through those as well. This podcast is perfect for anybody and everybody!

WHEW – that was a lot of podcasts! I actually have like four or five more, but I only listened to one or two episodes, so I’ll wait and see if I grow to like them more next month!